Did France Emulate Rwanda on corruption eradication among leaders?

One has to wonder whether the western world has started learning from the third world or if Africa and Rwanda in particular has matured this far amid the fact that, in the wake of a tax-dodging scandal at the heart of French government, and ahead of probably stiff new disclosure standards, politicians in France are rushing to make their properties and assets known to the public.

That policy was established in some countries and Rwanda through the post of Ombudsman; and Rwanda has been cited as an exemplary country in fighting against corruption. Has it been an inspiration for France?

French politicians of all political stripes began disclosing their assets recently in the wake of a tax-evasion scandal that has rocked the government of President FranÃ§ois Hollande and reinforced widely held perceptions in France that leaders are corrupt.

This is something that Rwandans are familiar with for many years after the creation of the Ombudsman Office through the new constitution adopted in 2003.

The Rwandan culture of fighting corruption and the fear of those who attempt to commit corruption offences go well with the mission of the Rwanda Ombudsman which is â€œleading the fight against corruption through public education, prevention and law enforcementâ€.

Although some say Rwandans are uncorrupted people by nature, the mixture of different cultures accompanied with several economic challenges and very long bad governance (which ended in genocide) have been contributing to the change of mindset which tarnished that Rwandan nature of wanting to do right things.

Consequences have been robbery, public funds embezzled, government institutionsâ€™ mismanagement etc. Horribly the 1994 Tutsi genocide had been involving in corruption whereby some victims were bribing killers for what they thought to be less torturing death (to be shot dead instead of being cut by machetes and cudgels).

Things have been remedied

After the Rwanda Patriotic Front stopped Genocide along with the government that planned and implemented it in 1994, many things have been changed; Laws, policies, Government institutions, administrative entities etc.

In this regard Rwanda under the current government has created an institution that can help people to develop without being harassed by their leaders once they are corrupt.

The office of the Ombudsman was put in place and that was adopted in the Rwandan current constitution. One of the tasks the Ombudsman and his/her team has to fulfill is to make sure all top authorities declare their properties to the Ombudsman in order to avoid people gathering assets, money or other properties without clear origin of their income.

This has been showing significant impact in fighting corruption among the top leaders. The World Bank ranked Rwanda among the top countries that have clear policies of avoiding corruption and implementing them.

How has France adopted Rwandaâ€™s Policy against corruption?Â Â Â

In France, President Francois Hollande initiated the â€œmoralization of politics billâ€ which is expected to bar those found guilty of corruption from running for office, but especially to compel elected leaders and public officials to further disclose their private and familiesâ€™ assets and interests.

It will likely carry stiffer sanctions, including prison time, for those who lie about assets or fail to disclose them fully.

Having an anti-corruption leader like Kagame in Rwanda, there is no way any country can be impended by corruption. â€œThe anti-corruption battle is only intensifying and those who thought government could lose the momentum are in for a surpriseâ€, President Paul Kagame once told reporters.

Having an institution like Ombudsman Office is not enough to make sure corruption wonâ€™t navigate in countryâ€™s atmosphere. It requires leaders who are determined to fight for that, otherwise even the Ombudsman can be a corrupt person.

President Kagame criticized the law which plans a short term in prison for those convicted of corruption and embezzlement offences. He said â€œthe leniency within anti-graft laws was indirectly fuelling the vice as more people choose to embezzle state resources hoping to come out of detention and invest their catchâ€.

â€œThis is a battle we must fight,â€ Kagame said. â€œPeople who embezzle public funds must pay back what they have eaten.â€

As a deterrent measure, Kagame called for toughening of anti-corruption laws and also insisted on confiscating assets owned by culprits convicted for dipping their fingers in public coffers.

This shows that some African countries can be a model for those who claim to have a clean democracy and good manners in terms of dealing with politics and public management. Africa is not only a place for wars and misery. There are places where people are doing their utmost to harmonize their lives and develop their countries, a supposed reason to why French seems to follow Rwandaâ€™s Anti- corruption Policy despite the development difference between the two.